After discussing with my cooperating teacher at Westerly High School, Ms. Macnamara, we have decided that I will teach 9th grade physical science. The level of the class is denoted as “College Prep” which used to be titled “regular level.”
The unit plan that I am beginning will be on the earth’s interior. There are 6 Sections in the textbook on this unit, all of which correspond to GSE for 9th grade physical science. The six sections all have main themes, which are simplified into the following list:
Earth’s Structure
Minerals
Rocks and the Rock Cycle
Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
These sections are easily broken into one or two lessons each. I am looking forward to using the technology available, including computers and the projection Smart Board, in order to prepare these lessons. There are a variety of labs that I can think of to create in order to explain the topics, varying from involving demonstrations to an opening inquiry activity.
The main activities of this unit are as follows:
Inquiry activity
Plate tectonics map demonstration
Volcanoes vs. Earthquakes team activity
Seismic wave slinky activity
Volcano demonstration (either in class or through video)
My unit plan was written with the New Framework for K-12 Science Education in mind, specifically in the area of the Inquiry activity. Previously the lab comparing and contrasting rocks and minerals was not inquiry, but by using the New Framework I was able to design an activity that is not only involving the state standards, but also engaging the students in a beneficial and authentic to their studies. The inquiry activity involves the following crosscutting concepts that have common applications across fields in the New Framework:
Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
Systems and system models
Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
This unit also incorporates four of the core ideas in disciplinary areas as shown in the New Framework. These core ideas are as follows:
Matter and its interactions
Energy
Waves
Earth’s systems
Portion of GSE that will be addressed:
PS1 (9-11) - 1 Students demonstrate an understanding of characteristic properties of matter by …
1a utilizing appropriate data (related to chemical and physical properties), to distinguish one substance from another or identify an unknown substance.
ESS1 (9-11) - 1 Students demonstrate an understanding of processes and change over time within earth systems by … 1a. plotting the location of mountain ranges and recent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to identify any existing patterns.
ESS1 (9-11) - 2 Students demonstrate an understanding of processes and change over time within earth systems by … 2a using given data (diagrams, charts, narratives, etc.) and advances in technology to explain how scientific knowledge regarding plate tectonics has changed over time.
ESS1 (9-11) - 3 Students demonstrate an understanding of processes and change over time within earth systems by … 3a explaining how heat (produced by friction, radioactive decay and pressure) affects the Rock Cycle. 3b explaining how convection circulations of the mantle initiate the movement of the crustal plates which then cause plate movement and seismic activity. 3c investigating and using evidence to explain that conservation in the amount of earth materials occurs during the Rock Cycle. 3d explaining how the physical and chemical processes of the Earth alter the crust (e.g. seafloor spreading, hydrologic cycle, weathering, element cycling). Back
The unit plan that I am beginning will be on the earth’s interior. There are 6 Sections in the textbook on this unit, all of which correspond to GSE for 9th grade physical science. The six sections all have main themes, which are simplified into the following list:
- Earth’s Structure
- Minerals
- Rocks and the Rock Cycle
- Plate Tectonics
- Earthquakes
- Volcanoes
These sections are easily broken into one or two lessons each. I am looking forward to using the technology available, including computers and the projection Smart Board, in order to prepare these lessons. There are a variety of labs that I can think of to create in order to explain the topics, varying from involving demonstrations to an opening inquiry activity.The main activities of this unit are as follows:
- Inquiry activity
- Plate tectonics map demonstration
- Volcanoes vs. Earthquakes team activity
- Seismic wave slinky activity
- Volcano demonstration (either in class or through video)
My unit plan was written with the New Framework for K-12 Science Education in mind, specifically in the area of the Inquiry activity. Previously the lab comparing and contrasting rocks and minerals was not inquiry, but by using the New Framework I was able to design an activity that is not only involving the state standards, but also engaging the students in a beneficial and authentic to their studies. The inquiry activity involves the following crosscutting concepts that have common applications across fields in the New Framework:- Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
- Systems and system models
- Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
This unit also incorporates four of the core ideas in disciplinary areas as shown in the New Framework. These core ideas are as follows:Portion of GSE that will be addressed:
PS1 (9-11) - 1
Students demonstrate an understanding of characteristic properties of matter by …
1a utilizing appropriate data (related to chemical and physical properties), to distinguish one substance from another or identify an unknown substance.
ESS1 (9-11) - 1
Students demonstrate an understanding of processes and change over time within earth systems by …
1a. plotting the location of mountain ranges and recent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to identify any existing patterns.
ESS1 (9-11) - 2
Students demonstrate an understanding of processes and change over time within earth systems by …
2a using given data (diagrams, charts, narratives, etc.) and advances in technology to explain how scientific knowledge regarding plate tectonics has changed over time.
ESS1 (9-11) - 3
Students demonstrate an understanding of processes and change over time within earth systems by …
3a explaining how heat (produced by friction, radioactive decay and pressure) affects the Rock Cycle.
3b explaining how convection circulations of the mantle initiate the movement of the crustal plates which then cause plate movement and seismic activity.
3c investigating and using evidence to explain that conservation in the amount of earth materials occurs during the Rock Cycle.
3d explaining how the physical and chemical processes of the Earth alter the crust (e.g. seafloor spreading, hydrologic cycle, weathering, element cycling).
Back